EU finds workaround to Hungary's veto on Ukraine's membership talks – FT
Photo: The EU has offered Ukraine a technical solution (Getty Images)
The European Union is discussing a temporary bypass of Hungary's veto on accession talks. Kyiv and Chisinau will have the opportunity to accelerate their adaptation to EU standards, according to the Financial Times.
EU preparing new stage of European integration for Ukraine and Moldova
European officials told the agency that the European Union is preparing to begin technical work on the accession of Ukraine and Moldova to the bloc. This decision is being considered despite the ongoing blockade of negotiations by Hungary.
Kyiv applied for membership in 2022, shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion. Moldova followed suit. Both countries officially began negotiations on EU accession last year, but Budapest is blocking the next step — the opening of negotiation chapters, which require the unanimous approval of all 27 countries in the bloc.
Bypassing Hungary's veto
The European Commission has proposed adjusting its rules and starting technical work on several clusters even without a formal decision. This will allow for the promotion of reforms and the approximation of Ukrainian and Moldovan legislation with European standards.
EU leaders will discuss this issue in Copenhagen on Wednesday, October 1. On Thursday, representatives of neighboring countries, including Ukraine and Moldova, will join the meeting.
Ukraine's position
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Taras Kachka said that Kyiv hopes to convince Budapest to allow the negotiations. According to him, the final decision on accession still requires unanimity and is a deeply political issue.
Kachka said in a comment to the Financial Times that in the meantime, they had greatly appreciated the offer from EU institutions and other member states to move forward with technical work on clusters.
Risks and expectations
According to diplomats, this approach will speed up preparations in Kyiv and Chisinau. If Hungary lifts its veto, the formalities can be completed quickly. One official said that in theory, you could open and close a cluster in a single day.
However, there are risks to the plan. Without public recognition of their efforts, it may be more difficult for countries to implement painful reforms. But suspending the process poses even greater threats, according to the EU.
Next steps
Kachka acknowledged that the technical work is not perfect and is a problem for everyone. But he stressed that it is important to move forward without interruption, because stopping will lead to the destruction of reforms.
At the same time, European Council President António Costa is considering the idea of changing the rules of the negotiation process. But this also requires unanimity, including Hungary, and the likelihood of success is low.
One European official said that it was clear they would need unanimity to change the negotiating framework and that he understood perfectly well that this was a difficult task.
Earlier, Politico reported that the EU was discussing ways to bypass Hungary's veto on Ukraine's path to membership. The new plan provides for the opening of negotiations by a qualified majority.
According to Eurobarometer data for spring 2025, 60% of European citizens approve of granting Ukraine EU candidate status, while 34% of respondents oppose it.
